Umbrellas, sunshades and the like



O t. 24, 6 'YUNG KWONG YUEN UMBRELLAS, SUNSHADES AND THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 3, 1965 QM QN VUQ R W M Mwr NV! 1 N 0 W .K m% V B F Arron/e vs United States Patent 3,348,558 UMBRELLAS, SUNSHADES AND THE LIKE Yuug Kwong Yuen, 320 Lily House, So Uk Estate, Kowloon, Hong Kong Filed May 3, 1965, Ser. No. 452,722 Claims priority, application Great Britain, June 3, 1964, 22,999/64 3 Claims. (Cl. 135-46) The present invention relates to umbrellas, sunshades and the like (hereinafter called umbrella) and the object of the invention is to provide an umbrella which can be more conveniently opened and closed, and especially one which can be conveniently opened and closed by onehanded control which is often desirable, for example when the other hand is not available, e.g., is being used for carrying articles.

Another object of the invention is to provide such an umbrella suited for one-handed control and which can be opened and closed by the Weight of the descending handle.

Another object of the invention is to provide an umbrella which will effect the aforesaid objects without the presence of spring means which have to be energized in either the opening or the closing movement, and which militate against ease of operation in one direction and are apt to be too harsh in action in the other direction.

According to the present invention, the stem of the umbrella comprises sections which telescope in relation to one another and are constructed and arranged so that one of said sections carries the notch and can be gripped at the other end near the handle of the umbrella, and the other section has the handle and carries the runner, catch means being provided cooperative between the two sections and which can be operated by the hand gripping the first said section near the handle. Thereby, with the first said section gripped and the umbrella held vertically, notch downwards, and with the two sections released from one another, the umbrella will be opened by the weight of the descending handle and, with the first said section gripped by the same hand, and the umbrella held vertically, notch upwards, the two sections can again be released and the umbrella will then be closed by the weight of the descending handle.

In order that the invention may be the more clearly understood, reference is hereinafter made to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one embodiment of the invention and in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view with the umbrella opened.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view with the umbrella closed.

FIG. 3 is a sectional View, with the umbrella closed, of a modified embodiment.

Referring to'FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the runner 1 is riveted to the tube 2 which carries the handle 3 at its other end. The notch 4 is riveted to the outer end of a tube 5. The ribs 6 are pivoted to the notch 4 and the stretchers 7 are pivoted to the ribs 6 and to the runner all in conventional manner. The end of tube nearer the handle is secured by a cross-pin or rivet 8 to a hand-grip tube 9, the tube 2 being slidable within the hand-grip tube 9 and around the tube 5. The tube 2 is longitudinally slotted at 10 and 11 to accommodate the cross-pin. A cat-ch lever 12 is pivoted to the handle tube 2 and passes through the slot 10 and also through a longitudinal slot 13 in the handgrip tube 9. The catch lever has a locating projection 14 which passes through the slot 11 in the handle tube 2 and is adapted to engage either one or two holes 15, 16 in the hand-grip tube. The catch lever is loaded by a spring 17. The handle tube carrying the runner can thus slide, under its own weight, longitudinally relatively to crosspinned tubes 5 and 9 which carries the notch.

To open the umbrella, the hand-grip tube 9 can be held, e.g., at its end nearer the handle 3 of the umbrella, and the handle can be pressed against the body of the user with the stern of the umbrella projecting diagonally upwards. While the tube 9 is so gripped, the catch lever can be operated by the forefinger of the same hand and the projection 14 brought inwards to release tube 9 and this tube can then be displaced towards thebody, carrying the tube 5 with it. Alternatively, the umbrella can be held vertically downward and, with the catch released, the handle will slide downwardly under its own weight to open the umbrella. A convenient relative longitudinal movement between the tube 2 on the one hand and tubes 5 and 9 on the other is 4", and it is then convenient to pivot the stretchers to the ribs at a point about 3 /2" from the notch. When the umbrella has been opened fully, the projection 14 of the catch lever will register with the hole 15 in the tube 9 and secure the umbrella in the open position.

To close the umbrella, the tube 9 is held and the catch lever operated by the thumb of the same hand so that the handle tube 2 is released from the tube 9 and if the umbrella is held vertically, notch downward, the handle tube can slide down under its own weight until the projection 14 of the catch lever engages the other hole 16 and secures the umbrella in closed position.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is basically similar to that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and the same reference numerals are used to represent like parts. In this embodiment, the runner 1 is a press fit on the tube 2. A ring 19 is provided adjacent the notch to space the ribs and stretchers away from the stern of the umbrella in its closed position. The tube 2 may be somewhat thicker at the handle end beyond the runner, forming a shoulder up to which the runner is pressed. The hand-grip tube, instead of being slotted as in the first embodiment described, is provided with openings 13a and 18 through either of which one end of the catch lever 12 can project, depending upon Whether the umbrella is opened or closed. The hand-grip tube 9 is provided with external rings 20, 21 and 22. The catch lever has a pawl-like locking end 14a to project through either one of the holes 15a, 16a, according to whether the umbrella is opened or closed, these holes being of sufficient size effectively to accommodate the locking end portion 14a. The holes 15a and 16a, 13a and 18, may be formed by drilling or milling as may be desired, and the rings 20 and 21 are arranged so that each provides an edge with which the pawl-like end portion of the catch lever can engage for a more secure engagement than is provided by the edge of the hole itself. The catch lever is loaded by a blade-spring 17a. The rings 20, 21 and 22 also facilitate grip of the tube for displacement. The ring 22 provides a neat end finish to tube 9.

The distance between the openings on one side is equal to the distance between the openings on the other side and the relationship between the positions of the openings is such that, to release the catch for opening and closing the umbrella, no movement of the hand relative to the hand-grip tube 9 is necessary. The catch lever can be released either by pressing in the end 14a or pressing in the other end of the catch. With the umbrella closed as shown in FIG. 3, the hand-grip tube can be gripped in a normal way with the end of the forefinger diametrically opposite the end of the thumb. Now if the locking end 14a of the catch be pressed in by the forefinger and the handle 3 moved towards the hand-grip tube 9, the other end of catch 12 will eventually engage in the opening 13a, locking end 14a then engaging in hole 15a and, when the opening 13a is thus engaged, the end of the thumb will be near the corresponding end of the lever. Thus the catch can be again released for closing the umbrella without any movement of the hand along the hand-grip tube, and merely by pressing in the corresponding end lever 12 in opening 13a by the thumb.

What I claim is:

1. An umbrella comprising plural sections which can telescope relatively to each other; a notch; a handle; a runner; ribs pivoted to said notch, stretchers pivoted to said runner and to said ribs; one of said sections comprising an inner tube carrying said notch at one end, and a hand-grip tube connected to said inner tube and projecting toward said handle; the other of said sections comprising a handle tube carrying said runner and slidable by gravity under its own weight within said hand-grip tube and surrounding said inner tube; said handle tube being formed with longitudinal slots; a spring-biased catch lever pivoted to said handle tube; said hand-grip tube having longitudinally spaced holes therein; said catch lever being formed with a locking end portion and being mounted to extend through said slots in said handle tube with its locking end portion selectively engaging in one of said holes in said hand-grip tube to retain the umbrella selectively in the opened or closed position; said catch lever being manually operable to release said sections for relative telescopic movement.

2. An umbrella comprising plural sections which can telescope relatively along one another; a notch; a handle; a runner; ribs pivotally connected in said notch; stretchers pivotally connected to said runner and to said ribs; one of said sections including an inner tube carrying said notch and a hand-grip tube connected to said inner tube and projecting toward said handle for manual gripping; the other section being slidably arranged in said hand-grip tube and carrying said handle and said runner; a catch lever cooperative between said hand-grip tube and said other section, and operable by the hand manually gripping said hand-grip tube; said sections being relatively slidably solely under the influence of gravity so that, when the hand-grip tube is manually gripped and the umbrella is held vertically downward, the two sections can be released from each other by operation of said catch lever and the umbrella will then be opened by the weight of the descending handle and, with the hand-grip tube manually gripped by the same hand and the umbrella held vertically upward, the two sections can again be released from each other by operation of the catch lever and the umbrella will then be closed solely by the Weight of the descending handle; said other section being a handle tube telescoped through said hand-grip tube; said handle tube having slots formed therein; said catch lever being spring-biased and pivoted to said handle tube, and having a locking end portion; said catch lever extending through the slots in said handle tube for engagement of said locking end portion with said one section for retaining the umbrella selectively in the opened or closed position; said lever being manually operable to release the sections for telesooping movement between said opened and closed positions of the umbrella.

3. An umbrella comprising plural sections which can telescope relatively along one another; a notch; a handle; a runner; ribs pivotally connected in said notch; stretchers pivotally connected to said runner and to said ribs; one of said sections including an inner tube carrying said notch and a hand-grip tube connected to said inner tube and projecting toward said handle for manual gripping; the other section being slidably arranged in said hand-grip tube and carrying said handle and said runner; a catch lever cooperative between said hand-grip tube and said other section, and operable by the hand manually gripping said hand-grip tube; said sections being relatively slidably solely under the influence of gravity so that, when the hand-grip tube is manually gripped and the umbrella is held vertically downward, the two sections can be released from each other by operation of said catch lever and the umbrella will then be opened by the weight of the descending handle and, with the hand-grip tube manually gripped by the same hand and the umbrella held vertically upward, the two sections can again be released from each other by operation of the catch lever and the umbrella will then be closed solely by the weight of the descending handle; said other section being a handle tube telescoped through the hand-grip tube and formed with a pair of diametrically opposite relatively elongated slots; said catch lever being spring-biased and pivoted to said handle tube intermediate its ends, and having locking end portions; said hand-grip tube being formed with a pair of first holes aligned with one of said slots and spaced apart a predetermined longitudinal distance, and with a pair of second holes aligned with the other slot and spaced apart said predetermined distance, said first and second holes being offset longitudinally relative to each other a distance such that one end of said lever will engage a first hole while the other end thereof engages a second hole; the longitudinal ofiset distance of said first and second holes having a value such that, with the umbrella closed and the handgrip tube manually gripped in the normal way with the forefinger and thumb of one hand diametrically opposite one another, one end of said lever can be depressed by the forefinger to release said handle to move toward said first section and, as the handle moves toward said first section, the other end of said catch lever will move into engagement with a second hole near the tip of the thumb to lock the umbrella in the open position; whereby said handle tube can be released by pressing said lever inwardly at said other end without moving the hand along the hand grip, to provide for closure of the umbrella.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 579,942 3/ 1897 Genereux. 594,135 11/1897 Hall 22 744,476 11/ 1903 Burgess. 1,313,966 8/ 1919 Tankersley. 2,447,972 8/ 1948 Weinert a- 13523 XR FOREIGN PATENTS 321,557 11/ 1929 Great Britain.

DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner.

HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Examiner.

PETER M. CAUN Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN UNBRELLA COMPRISING PLURAL SECTIONS WHICH CAN TELESCOPE RELATIVELY TO EACH OTHER; A NOTCH; A HANDLE; A RUNNER; RIBS PIVOTED TO SAID NOTCH, STRETCHERS PIVOTED TO SAID RUNNER AND TO SAID RIBS; ONE OF SAID SECTIONS COMPRISING AN INNER TUBE CARRYING SAID NOTCH AT ONE END, AND A HAND-GRIP TUBE CONNECTED TO SAID INNER TUBE AND PROJECTING TOWARD SAID HANDLE; THE OTHER OF SAID SECTIONS COMPRISING A HANDLE TUBE CARRYING SAID RUNNER AND SLIDABLE BY GRAVITY UNDER ITS OWN WEIGHT WITHIN SAID HAND-GRIP TUBE AND SURROUNDING SAID INNER TUBE; SAID HANDLE TUBE BEING FORMED WITH LONGITUDINAL SLOTS; A SPRING-BIASED CATCH LEVER PIVOTED TO SAID HANDLE TUBE; SAID HAND-GRIP TUBE HAVING LONGITUDINALLY SPACED HOLES THEREIN; SAID CATCH LEVER BEING FORMED WITH A LOCKING END PORTION AND BEING MOUNTED TO EXTEND THROUGH SAID SLOTS IN SAID HANDLE TUBE WITH ITS LOCKING END PORTION SELECTIVELY ENGAGING IN ONE OF SAID HOLES IN SAID HAND-GRIP TUBE TO RETAIN THE UMBRELLA SELECTIVELY IN THE OPENED OR CLOSED POSITION; SAID CATCH LEVER BEING MANUALLY OPERABLE TO RELEASE SAID SECTIONS FOR RELATIVE TELESCOPIC MOVEMENT. 